Page 81 of Smoke Signals

I still can’t decide what I like more. The way he responds when I bury myself in him, or the way he looks when he fucks me. Both leave me in the same place afterward; calm and steady.

AJ walks past carrying a hose bundle.

“You’re smiling again,” he says.

“I am not.”

“You definitely are.”

Hank snorts. “Man looks like he found religion.”

I shake my head and set the saw back into its mount.

“You guys need hobbies.”

The tones drop before anyone answers. Every sound in the station cuts off instantly. The alert echoes through the bay followed by dispatch.

“Engine Ninety-Nine, Ladder Ninety-Nine, Rescue Ninety-Nine, Battalion response. Structure fire reported. Multiple callers reporting flames through the roof.”

Conversation disappears as boots hit the floor and gear comes off racks. I pull my turnout coat on and clip my helmet strap while Phoenix swings into position beside me.

Jake and Hayes are already sprinting toward the medic unit.

Engine 99 rolls first with Captain Rhys riding shotgun and Thorne climbing in behind him.

Dark slaps the side rail. “Let’s go.”

The engine roars to life and the bay doors roll open as sirens rip through the morning air. Traffic parts while we push through the intersection, and smoke becomes visible two blocks away. Thick black columns that push into the sky above the rooftops.

Dispatch updates the call. “Additional companies responding. Mutual Aid requested.”

Mutual aid means this one is already spreading.

Dark swings the tiller smoothly as we turn the corner.

The house is fully engulfed, along with the homes on either side. Flames punch through second floor windows across all three buildings, orange light rolling through the smoke in violent bursts. Heat pushes across the street in waves strong enough to sting the skin on my face.

Engine 99 is already stretching multiple hose lines across the yard. Thorne disappears behind the engine pulling a hose while Captain Rhys shouts assignments into the radio, his voice sharp over the noise of the fire.

“Protect the exposure on the Bravo side. Get water on that second house now.”

Rescue 99 slides in behind us, and the doors fly open before the rig even settles. JJ jumps down first with JC, Denver and Gage right behind him, all of them moving fast toward the neighboring house where flames are starting to climb the siding.

Captain Dark scans the roofs once, quick and focused.

“Truck work,” he says, pointing toward the center structure. “Phoenix, Stellan, AJ. With me.”

The ladder swings into position and locks with a heavy metallic snap.

Phoenix grabs the saw, and I start climbing.

Smoke pours from the attic vents before we even reach the top of the ladder. The heat builds with every step upward, pushing against my turnout gear like a living thing trying to shove us back down.

By the time we step onto the roof, the shingles feel soft under my boots.

Phoenix positions the saw and yanks the cord.

The blade screams to life and bites into the roof while I brace beside him, and AJ clears space around the cut. Below us, hose streams hammer the front of the house while another line opens up on the exposure next door.